Reviews

Across the Wall: Tales of the Old Kingdom and Elsewhere by Garth Nix

crum_93's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I started this for the Old Kingdom story and generally enjoyed this book of short stories. The middle stories were less interesting for me, but the Old Kingdom story and the stories at the end were excellent. The Hope Chest is possibly one of my new favorite short stories. It has serious historical fantasy Annie Oakley energy and gave me serious nostalgia for one of my favorite early/first chapter books as a kid about her. The ending of that story also left me in a similar energy as The Lottery (one of my other favorite short stories). 

The satire article at the end about his new epic fantasy series had me cackling. 

I was a little disappointed at his misguided approach/feelings toward feedback that he should not write about (real) cultures not his own, but hope that maybe he has grown in his perspective since this was published almost 20 years ago. 

annieharhar's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I love Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series. I didn't know there was a short story out there about Nicholas. Definitely buying this one!

basbleu_dans_labiblioteque's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Favorites:
Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case
Down to the Scum Quarter
Hansel’s Eyes
Hope Chest
My New Really Epic Fantasy Series

aoosterwyk's review against another edition

4.0

There is a little bit of everything in this collection of short stories. It was not what I was expecting or actually hoping for, but was good in the way a short story collection is meant to be good. Each story was a stand alone and at the end of nearly every one I had the feeling that I was in the presence of a great writer.
My regret is that I really wanted more Old Kingdom, so the disappointment had nothing to do with any lack of quality or craft. My bad.

cimorene1558's review against another edition

4.0

If you've read Goldenhand, there's no need to go back and read this for the Abhorsen story, as everything you need to know is included in Goldenhand. Bit if you're a Garth Nix completionist, and I kind of am, this is necessary reading, and some of the stories are very good, and very hard to find elsewhere! This includes one of the creepiest Hansel and Gretel retellings ever, which haunted me for years after I read it in a compilation I could not track down, until I realized it was by one of my favourite authors, and in a book I own!

wanderlustqueen's review against another edition

4.0

I love the Abhorsen series. That is all.

aimeesbookishlife's review against another edition

4.0

I bought this to read the short story 'The Creature in the Case' as I started reading [b:Goldenhand|28594830|Goldenhand (Abhorsen, #5)|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459724394s/28594830.jpg|42858213] and realised it is set immediately after the short story. It definitely helped make sense of the first few chapters of Goldenhand, although I think you could still read the book without reading the short story because it's all explained in a conversation between Nick and Lirael anyway.

TCITC is actually the only Old Kingdom short story in this collection. The only Garth Nix books I have read are the Old Kingdom series so it was interesting to see him tackle other genres. I particularly enjoyed a re-imagining of Merlin and Nimue's relationship, and a very moving contemporary story of two young boys caught up in an unnamed war.

aroraback's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I love Garth Nix, and his short stories may be some of my favorite I’ve ever read. 

They embody his writing style so simply, in little snippets or glimpses of a world or life. I love how he had introductions to each story, and I was definitely more invested going into each story more than I normally am!

amr2024's review against another edition

3.0

I really enjoyed the first novella in this collection but grew disappointed with the other collections. I can't quite say that the title is misleading since there is one story related to the Abhorsen series. I was hoping for some of the background stories/notes/essays Nix mentioned in his introduction but that's not the case here. The other stories were okay but not really relevant to The Wall or the Old Kingdom.

pnw_afox's review against another edition

4.0

I'm drawn to the short story lately. I've read M is for Magic, bits of horror anthologies, and Across the Wall in the past few months. I truely enjoyed Nix's collection of stories. Some favorites include: Endings, Hope Chest, and Down the Scum Quarter. Each story has an informative introduction that gave it context as well as made the collection cohesive.